Yes, we know. But there's no way an asterisk can be attached to any of those marks because there's no smoking syringe. Major League Baseball cannot go back and erase any records based on court documents and circumstantial evidence.

But if Pujols continues his rampage and tops Roger Maris' 37-year-old record of 61 set in 1961, in the court of public opinion, he would be No. 1. He would be for me.

Pujols, with 23 home runs in 47 games, is clean. With a new steroid policy and testing in place, it would be almost impossible for a player today to play while on the juice.

And look at Pujols' history dating back several years. He's never been injured, and his size has not been the product of abnormal growth. Body breakdowns and a sudden surge in size are two tell-tale signs that things aren't on the up and up.

If Pujols hits 62, he did it fairly, and he'll be the unofficial home run king for a season. Officially, though, it would still have to be Bonds, right or not.

- Jon Mark Beilue

At the start of the 1998 season, Roger Maris' 61 stood as the single-season home run record.

Four steroid-fueled seasons later, Maris was in seventh, passed three times by Sammy Sosa, twice by Mark McGwire, and finally by Barry Bonds' 73.

I remember watching with a tear in my eye as McGwire slammed No. 62, then rushed over to hug the Maris family. Of course, we all should've known better than to trust tainted numbers from a tainted era, one that should have its accomplishments marked not with an asterisk, but with a tiny syringe in the record book.

Albert Pujols is on a pace to hit 83 home runs and knock in about 200 runs, breaking the home run record and Hack Wilson's far more impressive and enduring mark of 191 RBIs in 1930. But what happens if Pujols falls short of 73?

To me, a clean 62-homer season by Pujols would have to stand as more impressive than anything that happened from 1998-2001 because of the new testing that's been put into place. Of course, to me, Maris and Babe Ruth's feats are still most impressive, hitting 61 and 60, respectively, because of when they set those marks. That sign the fans in Philadelphia held up for Bonds is true: "The Babe did it on hot dogs and beer."

He also did it in an era of train travel, bigger ballparks and bigger strike zones, before personal trainers, video scouting and expansion, which diluted the pitching across the leagues, which is why Babe Ruth is still the king.